Time for Provident fund to transfer to North America?

[pumpkin]

I am just deciding whether or not to get my PF sent directly back home from the offshore fund account or whether to get the check and transfer via Al Rosatamani etc. After 15 + years it is a large amount and a little concerned about trusting Al R. However I do need the money to arrive prior to repatriating. What has been anyone else's experience with the time it took to arrive back home when transferred directly.? Likewise has anyone had experience sending a large amount with Al R or other agent here? A little apprehensive..

[harry the cod]

pumpkin

Hopefully you'll get a few suggestions and recommendations from colleagues who've left. In the meantime, have you tried contacting Nick Foxton who is the EK admin manager for the PF? I have contacted him on a previous occasion and found him to be helpful. He should be able to offer advice/recommendations for you as he obviously deals with this on a regular basis.

Good luck with the decision and safe flying in your new Company.

Harry

[donpizmeov]

Pumpkin I used Al R to send a large amount (pretty much equal to what my provident fund is and been here close to your time)home recently. Went to them before hand to organise the exchange rate, and for a non US dollar transfer they were the best I could find. Transfer was sent on a Tuesday and was in my destination account Wednesday morning . When sending more than a few hundred thousand you need a receipt and of where it came from and need to sign a form stating it's not for/from money laundering or terrorist activities.

[TOGA!]

Some years ago I put money into the C fund. I decided investing that money in the US a better option. I closed the C account and had the money, 50K USD+ sent to the US directly by Provident fund. I don't recall the rate but if you in invest in anything other than AED in the provident fund and you want to use a local transfer agent, it is likely that you would have to convert all that money to AED, then convert again once it reaches the destination. That would likely cost more than a direct transfer.

The direct transfer from the Provident fund took longer than I would have thought, something like 3 weeks. I use Al Rosatamani every month and the transfer is generally 2 days, but sometimes as quick as 1 day.

good luck

[pumpkin]

Thanks all. Yes I will email Nick - forgot about him. But 3 week is quite a long time so maybe better to transfer. Don did you just write a cheque to Al Rostamani or did you wander around with a massive amount of cash?

[Dropp the Pilot]

Sounds like everyone has done fine with Rostamani but the idea made me a bit nervous when I was making my plans. I just used my salary bank - Masheq - and contacted their currency trading department directly to negotiate a rate which was close to Rostamani. Due to the size of the payout I broke it down into 4 seperate transfers to four different locations rather than worry about one massive amount going astray. In all cases the money was in the destination accounts 24 hours after leaving Dubai.

[TangoUniform]

Used AR to transfer my PF. Did several $1000 runs prior to confirm all good. If you're going to cash the PF check downstairs at EGHQ, let them know prior so they'll have cash on hand. Took about,five days for funds to land in my account. Eleven plus years of PF.

[donpizmeov]

Pumpkin I deposited cheques into my Mashreq account via the ATM (not allowed to use tellers for that anymore), and then joined the que to the teller to get a managers cheque made out to Al R. No waiting for clearance of cheques needed in the UAE anymore. Although I was worried I would encounter a UAE moment, it all worked out fine.

[pumpkin]

Thanks all for the info, very helpful !

[marniplod]

I transferred my PF last year using electronic transfer. You can fill out the form as part of the termination process on the Provident Fund site or opt for cash or Cheque

It worked perfectly for me using IBAN and SWIFT details for your bank. I transferred to HSBC Jersey no issues. Can't imagine why you would want to use Al R

One thing you should ask for from the PF Administrators that is not automatically given is a letter with EK stamp saying where the funds have come from, should the receiving bank challenge the origin of the funds.

PF Admin are very obliging in doing this on request.